Smoking Barrels BBQ

So, right after writing a long review gloating about this place I placed an order for 72 $ worth of food, waited patiently for almost 45 minutes AFTER the expected delivery time of an hour (today being Monday at 8pm, your not super rushed) I still had not seen my food so upon calling to cancel due to time restrictions (I work night’s) she informed me that she didn’t think I could cancel it and implied I owed them 72 $ for food I never even received … Last time I’ll be ordering from here. Ever.

Great place. Brisket is tender and ribs are flavorful with a great burnt edge. The sweet and mustard sauces are really tasty. The spicy is just so-​so. What stands out about this place are the sides. I’d go just for the garlic bread. The fries, mac & cheese, okra — all delicious. The coleslaw & beans are just so-​so. Really convenient location, and fast. Big fan of this place.

This was our first time here– The service was very fast– the potato wedges were better then I have ever had before– But this basically like every other BBQ PLACE– WAYYYY better then bandanas– not better then pappys or bogarts– but still a good meal

Went to Smoking Barrels for dinner last night. Long drive to get there but was worth it. I had the pulled pork and turkey with baked beans and applesauce. My friend had the chicken and pulled pork. Plus a few beers. We were seated immediately and served our drinks. The food arrived before the 1^st beer was empty. The food was hot and the meat was moist (which is not always the case in smoked meats). The BBQ Sauce options complimented the meat. Love the garlic bread. Can’t say enough good about the food, service and area. A plus for us the owner Dennis Machado came and spoke to us. We complimented his establishment, you can tell he is a dedicated entrepreneur. It takes a lot of time and dedication of the staff to offer a superior product. He explained how the cooking is completed and that all of the sides are made from scratch. He brought out samples of the ribs, brisket, cheese potatoes, potato salad and coleslaw. Everything that we had was perfectly seasoned and cooked. First time to the South City Princeton Heights neighborhood. If this is the typical food I would highly recommend

I love it here the ribs are so tender. I love that there is a variety of sides. I ordered the family meal and my kids really enjoyed dinner.

I ate there for dinner last night. It reminds me a lot of the original Bandanna’s before it got bought out and became a chain.
I’ve been there a few times now and its been great every time. Make sure you go hungry… its a lot of food.

Best in town Pulled pork was excellent pink smoke ring just the right amount of smoke. Turkey was the best I have ever had. Ribs where tender and just right. Loved the potato casserole, Fries where Fries. BBQ sauce was decent. My wife’s Pork and Beans was very good with Chunks of pork in it. Best BBQ in town.

I was looking for a local spot for lunch and this place was certainly local. My GPS had me driving down an alley. Small corner location with on street parking. The service was good, only 4 or 5 other tables were occupied when I was there. I had pulled pork, beans, and coleslaw. None of it stood out, but none of it was bad. Overall I would return if in that part of St. Louis, but I would not seek it out.

Wicked fast service and great BBQ. I always love the pick THREE. I could live off their Mac-​n-​cheese. One plate for $ 17 could feed me for 3 days. This is BBQ at a great price and GENEROUS proportions. One of my favorite memories was coming home after 9PM on a Sunday night and trying to find places around to eat… Most places were closed, but not Smoking Barrels. I was able to feed me and my girlfriend for less than $ 20 and still have left overs. I recommend the brisket, chicken, ribs, turkey, and of course… the pulled pork.

I was a first time visitor of Smoking barrels. We came in for a carry out order put our seperate orders and had our food with in 5 minutes. The food was delicious. Between the 4 of us we tried many different food varieties and all of then where spot on! I will for sure be back!

I got three takeout orders, and the service was excellent. One of the orders was incorrect, but everyone makes mistakes, and I honestly didn’t want to go all the way back to correct it. We all had the ribs and brisket, but one order didn’t have brisket, or a double order of ribs. No big deal. The beans were nice and smoky, something this Bostonian likes (good Boston Baked Beans are hard to find!) They included several sauces, and I’m a huge fan of the sweet sauce on the ribs.
One nice thing was that the ribs weren’t too heavily sauced to pick up and eat without feeling like a slob. The included sauces were all very different, and it was cool to try them all with the ribs (mine was the order without the brisket, although it looked fabulous.) The ribs are nice and tender.
I will definitely be back to try the brisket and potato casserole.

Maybe I’m too easy too please when it comes to BBQ, but I’ve been ecstatic after a spat of successful BBQ ventures lately. SB is on a corner of Kings right before it ends on Gravois. Inside it’s got a dark, lounge-​cabin aesthetic that I dug. There’s also patio seating if the weather’s right. I tried the turkey dinner with mac and cheese and fries, because I’m trying to eat healthy. It’s also served with some buttery garlic bread. I like this touch. The turkey was tender and smoky. The mac and cheese was delightful, and the fries were above average. I’m a big eater but managed to make this into two meals.

Lock, stock and two…*
…meats with choice of sides.
This 5-​star was an easy call; Smoking Barrels served some of the best ribs I’ve EVER had, and amazing side dishes. The mac’n’cheese was terrific, and the baked beans far exceeded my expectations. Great service to boot, diligent and friendly. I’m a big fan of their sweet tea (served in mason jars) and was given a lime + lemon to use at my discretion. Dining at an actual barrel-​based table presented some unique challenges for my long legs and gangly arms, but as incredible as the food was, I made due.
For my 2 meats, I opted for the pulled pork and ribs, which were smoky-​flavored and delicious. The ribs didn’t need sauce at all; the meat fell right off the bone and was perfectly tender. I had a brief love affair with those goddamn ribs, and it took considerable effort to refrain from crying man tears of happiness. Sitting alone whilst gorging on bbq ribs and quietly sobbing wouldn’t have left the best impression, so I held back on the waterworks.
Were I to be in the greater Saint Louis area again, I’d come back here in a HEARTBEAT. Nothing but resplendent things to say about this joint.
Finger lickin’ grrrrrr-​reat!
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*a reference to a bloody hilarious Guy Ritchie movie called ‘Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ (get the tie-​in? of course you do, dear reader.) The British crime comedy is well worth a watch, in my opinion.

Smoking Barrels might be one of my new favorites, man!!! I went there on Sunday for the first time, as it had been on my «Must Visit Soon– BBQ Edition» list. We were in the area so I jumped on the opportunity. The place was not crowded around 3 pm on a sunday, but it filled out quickly by the time we were leaving a little after 4.
I loved everything from the prompt friendly service and incredible food, to the restaurant set up with a full bar. We had a full slab of ribs, plus ¼ lb brisket and sausage. The meats were deliciously tender and juicy! cooked to perfection with a subtle smoke flavor. Fries were stupendous! seriously some of the best fries I’ve had in a long time, that crispy texture on the outside did it for me! Green beans were okay, slightly overcooked as compared to my preference, but not too terrible.
Prices are fair, sandwiches are between $ 8 – 10 depending on the meat. You can buy the meat by the pound (or ¼ pound), there are larger dinner plates on the menu, there are family size combinations… seriously they thought of everything!
There is seating inside and outside. Parking at the front is quite peculiar, but there might be some spots at the back too, I have not checked that out. If not, you can always park on the street. Smoking Barrels delivers too (Agghhhh!) Not sure what the miles radius for delivery is but I shall try this service soon… I am bugging out thinking about BBQ delivered to my front door: heheh: This is glory!

We had a party of 11 and chose here for our team dinner. We all LOVED our food. Everyone that had ribs were not disappointed. We are from the East Coast and instructed to have bbq while in the mid-​west. My pulled pork was perfect! I loved the different sauces on the table. What I really loved about here was that the staff were ALL friendly!!! All smiles, friendly and went with the flow at all times!!! THAT is huge for me!
It’s not a fancy place. It’s a very low key place. The only reason I gave it a 4 and not a 5 was the temperature. Holy hell it was HOT!!! Not sure if AC was broke or what but we were swrating just sitting there.

Pulled pork was slightly smokey without sauce, a good thing, and a generous helping. Good mac n cheese; baked beans so-​so but ok with a little hot bbq sauce added. And the beer was cheaper than most restaurants that think beer is a rare commodity that should cost a lot. Friendly staff.
I’ll be back.

I decided on trying this place, after driving by it many of times. I came in around 3p. It was dead in there. I was the only customer. For my meal I decided to try the luncheon plate. I got the pulled pork which came with garlic bread and 2 sides. For my sides I got mac n cheese and baked beans. both sides were delicious. I just feel like the serving dishes they came in were too small. I wish it was a bigger serving. The pulled pork didn’t taste bad nither, I poured some Texas heat sauce which was kinda spicy, and Midwest sweet. Mixed together I think it made for the perfect sauce. Now I will definitely eat here again. But I just wanted to note that I like Sugar fire bbq better.

Smoking Barrels is my favorite BBQ place in St. Louis. Their meats are smoked perfectly and you have an option of a few different sauces to smother your food in. I love the drowning sandwich and their brisket lunch platter best but have yet to have anything disappointing here. For sides, you should definitely consider getting the applesauce because it actually has apple chunks in it and a light cinnamon taste. I also greatly enjoy their BBQ baked beans. You can’t go wrong here!

Have wanting to try this establishment for some time. Finally had the chance tonight and it was fantastic. I had the beef brisket with a baked potato and the fried corn on the cob, I wish I would have picked the bbq beans instead of the corn on the cob. The corn was the reason I only gave it a 4 star, it was good tasting, however, the kernels were sticky, the best word to describe it, and would stick to my teeth like taffy.
The brisket was amazing and some of the most juicy, tender brisket I have ever had. And the baked potato, was well a baked potato. There were two choices of bbq sauce at the table, Texas spicy and Midwest sweet. The Texas spicy had a little kick to it, however, not too spicy, I personally like spicy foods. The Midwest sweet was delicious also and sweet.
All in all this was a great meal and will be going back. I suggest it to anyone who is looking for some delicious bbq.

Just to show you that when I find something I like (Smoking Barrels’ ribs), when I go back I am disappointed. Consistency is difficult with barbecue and only a few achieve it. This time I returned with Ms T and Aunt Annie. The place was packed with some old folks group but we found a table.
The girls both ordered pulled pork platters. Since I had not tried it before, I was interested to see how it was. I sound like a broken record, but there is not much pulled pork out there worth ordering and this was not it. They liked it, however. I found it to be just roasted pork. The smoke was very mild to undetectable. There is not enough rub to season it and it was on the edge of dry.
My ribs were not at all like my first visit. This time they lacked smoke, lacked rub and thus salt. They were done about right, but were probably 1 – 2 days old. I also sampled the sausage. This is flavorful but pretty commercial, like Hillshire Farms. It has that mushy texture.
Their slaw is pretty standard, sweet creamy, but fine. It needs a little vinegar. Aunt Annie liked the potato salad, being a nearly mashed style with a little yellow mustard, but not too much. She also wished for a little vinegar or hot sauce. I still liked the cheesy potato bake and this time I tried the mac ‘n’cheese. The mac was not fancy fru-​fru, and I liked it. They used small elbows and a white cheese sauce so you did not feel like you are eating a Kraft box.
I really have to drop my rating, based solely on the slippage on the ribs. I don’t expect much from pulled pork and don’t rate them down for that. If I had had these ribs the first time, I probably would not have taken anyone there. I wanted to test the consistency and found an issue. I actually liked the sides better than the meats. Even three stars is a little high. Now the question is, do I try again?